The June elections saw the collapse of the Greens, the rise of the far right and a disavowed government coalition, leading to the resignation of the Prime Minister. Four months later, the question of this Sunday, October 13 was to see if these trends were preserved or not. Overview.
Antwerp
Bart Der Wever has been mayor of Antwerp since 2012 and is running for a third term. The N-VA list came well ahead and Bart De Wever was not worried. But the president of the Flemish conservative party is also on track to form the coalition government and perhaps take on the role of Prime Minister. He would succeed Alexander De Croo who resigned after his party’s heavy defeat in the elections in June.
Used
Municipal councilor of Bruges since the 1980s, Dirk De fauw is a member of the Flemish Christian Democratic Party (CD&V). He was elected mayor of the city on January 1, 2019. Candidate for his succession, he retained his seat without difficulty with a score of 38.4%, he gained 6.5% compared to 2018.
Bruxelles
The capital city has been administered since 2017 by the socialist Philippe Close, former spokesperson for ex-Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. Before becoming mayor, he was elected municipal (alderman) responsible for tourism for 10 years. He is also vice-president of the Socialist Party. This Sunday, he won his bet. An agreement was reached after several hours of negotiations between the different lists that came out on top and it provides for Philippe Close to be reappointed as mayor.
Charleroi
Paul Magnette, president of the Socialist Party and former minister-president of the Walloon government (from 2014 to 2017), had been mayor of Charleroi since 2012, but after the failure of the PS in the regional and legislative elections of June 2024, he announced not to be a candidate for re-election. He was still third on the list in the municipal elections. His successor, Thomas Dermine, succeeds him.
Kortrijk
The mayor of Kortrijk Vincent Van Quickenborne has been in office since 2013. From the liberal Open VLD party, he left his municipal functions when he was appointed to the De Croo government in 2020. Minister of Justice and the North Sea, he resigned in October 2023 after the Brussels shooting which cost the lives of two Swedes. The terrorist was subject to an extradition request since 2022. After which, he regained his seat as mayor.
For these municipal elections, he was on the list of the municipal majority but had left the first place to Ruth Vandenberghe who had taken over in the interim. Their list is at the top, so she should regain the mayor’s seat.
Thinking
Mayor Mathias De Clercq, also from the liberal Open VLD party, is a former MP. He left the House of Representatives when he was elected in Ghent in 2018. His list came first and he will have to form a coalition in which he reaches out to everyone except the far right. He remains mayor.
Liège
Mayor since 1999, the socialist Willy Demeyer was seeking a 5th term at the head of the Cité ardente. During the campaign, he expressed his desire to complete the projects delayed by the health crisis and the floods, while suggesting that he might not see his mandate through to the end. On Sunday, his list took the lead, winning 21 of the 47 available seats, and he retained his seat.
Namur
The city of Namur has been administered by Maxime Prévot since 2012. He was Minister of Public Works and Health in the Magnette government. Center right, he is president of the Engagés party, formerly CDH (Humanist Democratic Center). And on Sunday, if victory was expected, Prévost himself was surprised by the results: his list came close to an absolute majority. He therefore remains mayor.
Mons
The socialist Nicolas Martin has been mayor of Mons since 2018, the city where he was born. He succeeded former Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. Elected deputy in June, he was seeking a second term as town hall. His list came first but without an absolute majority, he will therefore have to form a coalition, but will retain his seat as mayor.
Tournai
The socialist Paul-Olivier Delannois, native of Tournai, has been mayor of his city since 2018 after several mandates as a deputy. But on Sunday, the outgoing majority lost its feathers. And it is an MR-Les Engagés-Ecolo coalition which is negotiating. According to RTBF, Marie-Christine Marghem (MR, conservative center-right party) will be the new mayor of Tournai.
> all the results of the municipal elections on the Soir.be website
